The Greenville times., 1887-06-18

building a bridge over the Ohio
that will cost $1,000, 600. A bridge
is also projected over the Missis-
sippi at Memphis. Lines of rail-
way are being built through and /
around this Delta. and it will soon
have shipping facilities both ont
and in, equaIed by those of no
other body of land equally pro.
duetiye in the world. If now
these great corporations can see
future development that warrants
such immense expenditure of cap
ital on their part, what folly on the
part of the owners of this land to
allow its richness and value to be
unnecessarily wasted. Twenty to
forty years ago the settlers on the
rich prairies of the West ridieuled
the man who prophesied exhaus.
tion of fertility in those rich, black
soils. The men who believed that
their land could not be worn out
by constant cropping IN wheat
alone, and who continued to farm
in accordance with that belief,
have mostly moved on. The fore
closure of the lr0n-cladn y mort
gage has closed the account of
many q man who worked against
natures laws instead Of with them.
Rich as these lands are they can
be worn down until they are not
profitable to cultivate, and while
the wearing out process is going
on the land is not producing up
to its full capacity.
While many problems remain
unsolved much has been learned
in regard to the fertility of the
soil, during the past few years,
through the combined efforts OF
the chemist, the botanist and prac-
| tical agriculturist. We have lear.
ned that the solid rocks contain
material that will make plant food,
and the same is true of nearly all
kinds of soils from the surface
down to any depth. When the
surface soil is removed the sub.
soil is not fertile as o rule at first,
but after exposure to the air for q
time 1t is in some cases more pro-
ductive than the surface. A plant
cannot get food from solid rock,
but when tho rock is ground up
fine 1t may make a good fertilizer.
The above are facts observed by
the scientist and the farmer, and
the scientist has given us the ex-
planatlon by showing through
carefully conducted experiments
in what is. termed pot culture,
LIST, that all plants must have GER
tain materials that are drawn up
, through the roots to enable them
| to grow. If any Of these materials
are lacking the plant will starve
I'd. Nearly all soils when Analysed
{ are found to contain large amounts
of these materials, but the soil
| containing the most may be the
i least productive. Further inves
, tigation has developed the fact that
! the plant food in the soil must be
, In certain condition before the
! plant can get 1t. 1t must become
soluble or pass into partial solu
ton before it is available, 3rd
j When on unproductive soil rock
bone or any solid material Is bro
/ ken up aud exposed to the influ
ences of the oxygen, carbonic acid
> moisture, and warmth of the at
, mosphere, the insoluble material
becomes available and totally
f unproductive, soil taken from
!. any depth, may after exposure fol
, a time, become highly productive
' All intelligent, observing farmers
know that thorough fitting of the
q land and continual working of the
/. crop, will increase the yield. II
, does this because more inert mat
!. ter is changed into the available
!. condition. IT the soil is saturated
f with water the action Of the agen
cies mentioned is checked and the
+. plant can not get food. 1t has
\ been known for 1900 years that
. drainage and thorough cultivation
3 are requisite to grow maximum
/ crops, but WHY is modern disco
/. very.
|. The application of manures es
/ pecially strong, concentrated fer
). tilizers, may have the same effect
0 on inert material of the soil as the
i action of the atmosphere. The
v decaying roots of plants also hell
o to decompose insoluble matter IL
t the soil and fit it for plant food
t In the natural process of plants
i growing and dropping their leaves
d and finally decaying on the land
Y the land becomes richer; first, by
!. decomposition of inert soil matter
Q second; by addition made to thu
Q soil from the atmosphere by tht
+; leaves of the plants. Some fer
t tilizing material in the form of am
Q monia is carried down to the sol
from the atmosphere by rain ant
0 dew and 1t is held by some in
Q vestlgators that under certain con
ditions the soil may act upon at
i. mosphcric nitrogen and make ]
i. enter into available combinations
r We have also in some places fer
], tilizing material deposited by over
g flow.
}. We have referred now t.
g the principal sources of fertility
n with the exception of applying
@ manure, which adds plant foo'
# direct to the soil and may also &C
5. as a decomposing agent to unlocl
70 soil fertility not otherwise avail
n able. We will next consider eS
haustion of soil fertility. Whe
10 we apply manure to the soil an
t. it becomes fitted for plant foo
0. through decomposition it does no